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They all are Redshirts so they all are graduating or have graduated.I dont blame them for declaring now. Either get in to the NFL or start your life doing something else. Geathers even if he wasnt a Redshirt wouldnt of been a bad decision he will get drafted reasonably high

No way.. A guy like Tom Worts stock is terrible, and all he has to do is come back and play really well, and he'll be back in at least RD 2-3, as opposed to maybe 6th or dare i say 7th rd this yr?

The other guys i really don't know much about outside of Geathers, who i think could've turned himself into a 1st rd player with a big yr next season.. Graduated or not, there basically interning for one more yr, trying to earn big bucks.. At least some of em..

Mike Davis WR Texas just declared today as well.. Draft board told em 3rd rd.. At least he came out and flat out said, he declared because of finances... I like when there honest..

Everyone knows how high i am on MLB's Ogletree and Minter, and i all ready posted this fantastic Article on Minter in the "KEVIN MINTER" thread, but felt it needed to be shared on the draft thread as well.. THis guys the real deal! The respect he gets from his teammates, almost all early rd picks, is amazing! Also, he was voted TEAM MVP by his teammates, and not for defense, but entire team! THis guys no freaking joke! I love how ERIC REID realized during the FLA game that MINTER was "In a zone!" and brought it up in the huddle..lol Minter is also a fantastic individual off the field and u have not to worry about him getting into trouble.. I love this guy as a prospect!
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softly, LSU's Kevin Minter has made his presence felt in a big way

LSU middle linebacker Kevin Minter has been a quiet but dominant presence in the middle of the Tigers' defense this season with 111 tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss. (Photo by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune) By Randy Rosetta, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune
on December 29, 2012 at 7:15 PM, updated December 29, 2012 at 9:40 PM Print

ATLANTA -- It was a sweltering day on the field in a hostile environment at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium back in early October, with LSU and Florida locked up in an intense defensive struggle. All of a sudden it hit safety Eric Reid as the defense huddled up for the next snap.

As linebacker Kevin Minter's spectacular day was unfolding -- as always quietly and without a lot of fanfare -- his teammates took notice.

"We were standing there, trying to catch our breath, and Eric looked over and said 'Kevin, do you know you've made every play?'" defensive end Barkevious Mingo said, trying to imitate Reid's respectfully incredulous tone when he realized what Minter was doing.

"Kevin was in a zone -- flying around and making plays. Making every play."

LSU middle linebacker Kevin Minter: 'I had to work hard and compete for everything I got, and that's made me appreciate it that much more.'
Chris Granger, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune
Well, maybe not every play, although it seemed that way. Minter was undoubtedly spectacular that day in The Swamp with 17 solo tackles and 3 assists. That turned out to be the signature game of what has been a special season for the fourth-year LSU junior.

That season winds down Monday not far from Minter's hometown in Suwanee, Ga., when he and No. 9-ranked LSU (10-2) square off with 14th-ranked Clemson (10-2) in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl at the Georgia Dome.

And in his typical unassuming fashion, Minter is wide-eyed at the idea of stepping back on the field where some of his biggest games have unfolded.

"I played in the state championship game here and lost," Minter said. "I've also played here against North Carolina (the first start of his career in 2010) and in the SEC Championship Game. I've got a lot of history here. I've always played fairly well here. I love the Georgia Dome."

That's about as close as the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Minter comes to brashness.

On those 20 tackles he was in on against Florida, not once did Minter get up off the pile of humanity yapping or talking trash. Instead, every play he's a part of ends with him trotting back to the huddle or to his spot in the middle of the Tigers' defense.

Flip that around, and you won't see -- or hear -- Minter imploring teammates with passionate speeches or arm-waving demonstrations.

The most his LSU teammates usually get, Mingo said, is Minter firmly and quietly urging "Let's go!"

Barkevious Mingo
LSUSports.net "I tease him sometimes because that's all we get from him," Mingo said. "I tell him, 'That's it, man?' But that's a lot of emotion from Kevin."

No argument from Minter. He concedes that working up a verbal lather is not part of his repertoire.

"It kind of came with my personality," he said. "I've never been that kind of guy. I've always been somebody who leads by example. I was a lot more assertive this year as far as getting guys lined up and telling them where they need to be because it's kind of what this job demands. But I've never felt like I needed to yell or scream to make my point."

Nor has he had to rely on vocal theatrics to be an effective defensive quarterback a season after the Tigers' linebacker corps struggled most of the season.

Minter was a part-time starter in 2011, splitting time with Karnell Hatcher, as defensive coordinator John Chavis deployed a 4-2-5 scheme almost exclusively to accentuate the talents of Tyrann Mathieu as a ball-hawking playmaker.

When Mathieu was dismissed from the team prior to the season, on top of the losses of defensive backs Mo Claiborne, Brandon Taylor and Ron Brooks to the NFL, there was a gaping hole on the defense for somebody who could consistently supply a game-changing presence.

LSU middle linebacker Kevin Minter played a key role in the Tigers' ability to slow down Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel with a team-high 12 tackles.
Chris Granger, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune
While Minter isn't the same kind of dynamo that Mathieu was, he has helped fill the void in different ways.

Chavis was more comfortable using three linebackers more often this season, with junior Lamin Barrow also emerging as a star on the weakside and several players taking on the task on the strongside when Tahj Jones was ruled academically ineligible.

Minter rewarded Chavis and the rest of the defense by delivering a huge season.

The performance at Florida was the centerpiece, but he also recorded three other games with 10 tackles or more and has 111 stops heading into the bowl game. Minter has notched 13½ tackles for loss - at least one in every game but two.

This wasn't an overnight metamorphosis for Minter. Without an ounce of hesitation, he describes himself as a system player and says he took his time to learn as he toiled behind Kelvin Sheppard in 2010 and shared time with Hatcher last season.

"I had to work hard and compete for everything I got, and that's made me appreciate it that much more," Minter said.

"I've always had the size, strength and talent to be a good linebacker. It was just a matter of getting the system down and gaining confidence in myself in the ability to move people around and tell them where they need to be."

There was an impetus to that confidence.

Chavis' pride and joy as a coach has always been stout linebacker play and when that unit came under criticism and scrutiny in 2011, LSU's defensive coordinator felt that sting as deeply as the players.

LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis
Associated Press So in the off-season, Chavis sat down with the player he knew could spearhead an immediate and necessary turnaround.

"Coach Chavis told me 'You've always had the potential and now it's time to start living up to that,' " Minter said. "That meant a lot to me - that he thought I was that kind of player. It motivated me to work a lot harder in the off-season and from the first game, it felt different out there. It felt easier, almost like I was back in high school."

The result of the heart-to-heart with Chavis was that Minter emerged not only as a team leader, but also as one of the best linebackers in the country.

"It was an opportunity, and certainly we needed for him to step up and be front and center," Chavis said. "Kevin is a real quiet guy, but I saw both sides, on and off the field, and I feel like I know him very, very well. He's the kind of leader that you want to have."

That applies off the field as well.

Minter graduated earlier this month and has never been affiliated with a sniff of trouble. In an age when players are closely watched, their social media habits are over-analyzed and news of arrests and suspensions have mushroomed, Minter relies more on politeness and letting his actions speak.

"He's the kind of guy who leads by example," said Barrow, one of Minter's closest friends. "He does everything right on and off the field, and that's naturally somebody you look up to. When he has to be vocal, he can be."

Added Reid, "He's a great example-setter for the young guys, somebody they can look up to and somebody they can count on if they have a question, they can go to him and he'll answer it and not embarrass them."

More than that, though, Minter has that hidden ability to do what coaches crave most in their best players: He makes those around him better.

Not with a bunch of bravado - remember, "Let's go!" is as much as he offers up - but instead with the personality that other players around him follow and emulate.

LSU linebacker Lamin Barrow: 'Feeding off (Minter's) energy has helped make me a better player this year.'
NOLA.com | Times-Picayune
"Feeding off his energy has helped make me a better player this year," Barrow said matter-of-factly. "We always dreamed of being out there together from the time we got here, and he just helps motivate me by showing me you can make your statement with the way you play."

At the team banquet a few weeks ago, Minter was voted by his teammates as the team Most Valuable Player.

Still seemingly stunned by that recognition, Minter paused and contemplated his answer when asked how significant that is to him.

When he finally did, he delivered what will eventually be a perfect and fitting epitaph to his LSU career.

"It tells me that my teammates see me as a guy who tries his best and does everything he can for his team," Minter said.

I was looking at RB's again the other day, thinking about who would be a nice part of a duo with David Wilson, and i am telling you, Kerwynn Williams of Utah st is a very underrated player.. He caught 40plus balls, had 2games of over 100recieving and 100rushing on the season, and was flat out dominant! Hes not a big guy like Andre Brown, as hes only 5ft 8in 190lbs, but hes quick, deadly in open field, and can flat out catch the rock.. Shoot, they split him out alot, and he looks like a slot reciever out there, and not a RB... I think he'd be a great change of pace back for David Wilson, and really give us a dyanmic backfield.. I like some bigger backs as well, but Kerwynn Williams has moved up my personal rankings for sure..

This kids got oodles of vision , balance, and speed.. Also, lower center of gravity and a solid 190lbs on his 5ft 8in frame, makes em not a easy tackle...

I was looking at RB's again the other day, thinking about who would be a nice part of a duo with David Wilson, and i am telling you, Kerwynn Williams of Utah st is a very underrated player.. He caught 40plus balls, had 2games of over 100recieving and 100rushing on the season, and was flat out dominant! Hes not a big guy like Andre Brown, as hes only 5ft 8in 190lbs, but hes quick, deadly in open field, and can flat out catch the rock.. Shoot, they split him out alot, and he looks like a slot reciever out there, and not a RB... I think he'd be a great change of pace back for David Wilson, and really give us a dyanmic backfield.. I like some bigger backs as well, but Kerwynn Williams has moved up my personal rankings for sure..

They're built for it. Ratliff has never been a great 3-4 NT. He's a really good DT though.

And Ware plays with his hand in the dirt on most snaps anyway.

"hand in the dirt" as you say doesnt really matter. Ware is a phenominal outside 3-4 LB and will not suck as a DE, that is for sure. But 4-3 DE is easier to scheme against because you typically know exactly where he will be at all times. Furthermore, the cowboys have an excellent group of young LBs now and those guys skillsets are more geared towards 34 as well. It is not an easy transition to make for a LB. This is a big risk on their part. It has backfired for a lot of teams lately. Although, it is my personal belief that the 3-4 defense is not as NFL friendly anymore since the rule changes. There is a reason we have seen historical 3-4 guys using hybrid and even some 43 in recent years(Bill B.)

The other part of this that sucks is that if they switch to a 43 they absolutely will be in the market for another 43 DE. Remember, this is the team that drafts 1 pick ahead of us.

What don't u see? Guys got breakaway speed, tons of balance, vision, catches the ball like a WR, splits out, has enough meat on his bones with a 5ft 8fram to hold up...etc This guys legit.. I bet someone takes em in the 5th-6th range.. I like em alot!